BAGHDAD — Smoking, horn honking and political debating — these may sound like a few of Iraq’s favorite things, but one village has banned them all to beat the national doom and gloom.

“Smoking just isn’t good for you,” said Kadhim Hassoon, standing proudly by a red-and-white crossed out cigarette sign marking the entrance of Albu Nahadh, a hamlet nestled along a river bank in the fertile heart of Iraq’s south.

The ban is a bold step in a country where smoking in hospitals and lifts or at gas stations is not uncommon.

Tobacco is also banned in areas held by the “Islamic State” group, but that is really all Albu Nahadh has in common with the self-proclaimed caliphate that has brought Iraq to the brink of break-up.

“Religion has altered everything in this country. This is why one of our rules is no religious talk. Religion should be in your heart, something between you and God,” said Hassoon, the driving force behind the Albu Nahadh utopia.

Iraq has been plagued by deadly sectarian violence for years, and while the southern provinces have been largely spared jihadist attacks, thousands of its sons have gone to the front lines and never returned.

The list of don’ts also includes selling soft drinks to children and using car horns, although no penalty is incurred for violating any of the rules.

The 46-year-old Hassoon is keen to portray his community project more as an attempt to become a modern ecovillage following global good practices than a closed mini-republic with quirky bylaws.

“I want this street to look like a piece of Europe,” he said.